Laisser-Passer / Safe Conduct

2002, 172 minutes

French Resistance film by one of France's great directors

Laisser-passer offers a fascinating insight into the French film industry during its blackest period – at the time of the Nazi occupation between 1942 and 1944. The film revolves around two comparatively minor players in the film industry at that time, Jean Aurenche and Jean Devaivre, and contrasts their very different attitudes to working for the Germans. The film is morally ambiguous but raises some valid questions about how far one can legitimately collaborate with an enemy without sacrificing one’s cherished beliefs.

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